Versatile in all styles of music, Craig Christman plays sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor & baritone saxes; flute, alto flute, & piccolo; clarinet, bass clarinet and bassoon (even a little jazz trombone too!).  He attended the University of Miami as a double major in Music Business and Studio Music & Jazz Performance, studying under Gary Keller and Gary Campbell.  Craig is also a musical instrument repair specialist, focusing primarily on professional level instruments but also servicing many students' instruments.  Since graduating U.M. in 1998, he has become one of South Florida’s most in-demand woodwind performers and repair specialists for both brass and woodwind instruments. 

Having studied both classical and jazz at U.M., Craig regularly performs in many jazz, R&B, dance, rock & soul bands, symphony orchestras, various classical and wedding ensembles, as well as studio recording sessions throughout Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Naples, and Fort Myers.   Craig has been a featured soloist with the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra, the Southwest Florida Symphony, and the Charlotte Symphony Orchestras.  He is also an accomplished arranger having written orchestrations and horn section arrangements for concerts, recording sessions, and classical music ensembles for weddings.  In addition to contracting ensembles for weddings, corporate functions, and other events, he also has performed with artists such as:  Brian Wilson, Lou Rawls, Bernadette Peters, Bobby Vinton, Frank Sinatra Jr., The Four Tops, The Temptations,  Johnny Mathis (every year that he has toured Florida since 2000), Frankie Valli, and many others.  Craig has been the leader, as well as a featured soloist, with bands that have opened concerts for Bruce Hornsby, Marie Osmond, Nelson Rangell, and Richard Elliot.  His multi-instrumental skills have allowed him to play with many local theater groups as well as with the touring Broadway shows:  The Full Monty, 42nd Street, The Sound of Music, Thoroughly Modern Millie,  My Fair Lady, Hairspray, The Drowsy Chaperone, Spamalot and many others that travel throughout Florida.   Some of the local bands that he has been a member of include:  Rock-n-Soul Revue (R.I.P. the finest soul band in all of south Florida, may it be resurrected soon!), R&B Connection, The Juice, The Mambo Brothers, the Stu Shelton Trio, Bob Stone Big Band, Steve Uscher's Tropical Jazz, and many others.  Some of Craig's musical influences are:  Michael Brecker, Maynard Ferguson, Lenny Pickett (SNL & vintage Tower of Power), Cannonball Adderley, Phil Woods, Steve Grossman, Branford Marsalis, Gene Ammons, David Sanborn, Gordon Goodwin, Bob Berg, Jerry Hay, Dan Higgins, Klaus Thunemann, James Galway, Rolf Smedvig, Sabine Meyer, Bill Watrous, Carl Fontana, Nick Brignola, Sonny Stitt, and Ronnie Cuber.

His quest for excellence as a performer also shows in his repair work.  Craig is a specialist in Oboe, Flute, Clarinet, Bassoon, Trumpet, Trombone, and Saxophone repair and takes great pride in his work.  He apprenticed in the art of musical instrument repair under Tom Kracmer, the owner of Cadence Music, and is devoted to perfecting his craft.  Craig repairs instruments for the faculty and students at the University of Miami, Florida International University, New World School for the Arts, professional musicians from all around Florida, the clarinet, flute, and oboe sections of the Naples Philharmonic and Southwest Florida Symphony, as well as professional musicians from all around the world!  He repairs instruments for such luminaries as:  Wayne Shorter (Jazz Legend!), Gary Keller (sax professor at the University of Miami, author of The Jazz Chord/Scale Handbook & Sonny Stitt's Transcribed Solos), Ed Calle (sax player with Arturo Sandoval and has his own recordings played on many jazz radio stations nationwide), Gary Campbell (saxophonist, composer, professor of sax at Florida International University and author of Expansions, Connecting Jazz Theory, Triad Pairs for Jazz as well as co-author of Patterns for Jazz), and Mike Scaglione (Miami Sound Machine,  Maynard Ferguson Big Band in the early 90's, Julio Iglesias, and many others).

Music is a passion for Craig and it is his mission in life to help others through his God-given abilities.  If you would like to see or hear Craig perform, please check the calendar page for upcoming events, or contact Craig for upcoming performance dates.  Please visit the Audio Clips page to hear some MP3 samples of Craig performing either solo or with various ensembles.  He performs many beach weddings on Sanibel and Captiva Islands, so you might just see him while you are walking the beaches!  You can also see Craig every Sunday morning (almost!) playing in the band at Riverside Church on Daniels Parkway in Fort Myers, Florida.  Craig is currently accepting a limited number of students for private instruction in saxophone performance, flute & clarinet doubling, jazz improvisation, sightreading and other related topics.

To discuss lessons, any repair concerns you may have, or to schedule an appointment, please contact via E-mail or call 239-823-7240. 

Craig is happily married to oboist Ruth Christman!  Ruth is the Executive Director of The Music Foundation of Southwest Florida, a non-profit organization that helps kids study music by giving scholarships for lessons, providing music summer camps, a traveling instrument program, and many other programs.  Ruth is also Southwest Florida's premier Oboe and English Horn specialist, having graduated Concordia University with a Bachelor's Degree in Music Education, as well as Northwestern University with a Master's Degree in Oboe Performance (studying under Ray Still, principal oboist of the Chicago Symphony from 1954 through 1994).  I am very proud of her and I am glad that we can make music together!

As of November 24, 2007, which happens to be our 6th anniversary, we're expecting our first child!  We discovered this miracle on December 13, 2007 right before I flew an airplane solo for the 2nd time in my life (talk about stress!)  I soon hope to complete my flight training with Ed Fink and upon completion of my private pilot's license I will pursue my instrument rating.  Flying has been a lifelong dream of mine and originally I planned on becoming a military aviator. However, while in high school, I discovered I needed glasses (which shot-down, no pun intended, my military aviation career) and also realized that I was being called into music.  God had different plans for me and I'm glad He did! 

UPDATE:   On May 31, 2008 I passed my private pilot checkride and on August 15, 2008, we are expecting the birth of our daughter!  WOO-HOO!!! 

Thank you for visiting my site and please feel free to contact me with any questions about the services I offer.

         God Bless!     

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